Do Not Call Compliance Issues
This is from a series of Q&As from the FTC about the Do Not Call law. This part is about compliance. The FTC is serious about this law and have been handing out large penalties ($11k PER violation). Call 100 people illegally and you can add up a big bill quickly. Why waste your time calling someone who doesn't want to talk to you and put your company at such great risk?
Compliance
28. What happens to companies that don’t pay for access to the registry?
A company that is a seller or telemarketer could be liable for placing any telemarketing calls (even to numbers NOT on the registry) unless the seller has accessed the registry and paid the fee, if required. Violators may be subject to fines of up to $11,000 per violation. Each call may be considered a separate violation.
29. What if I call a number that’s not on the registry without checking the registry first?
It’s against the law to call (or cause a telemarketer to call) any number on the registry (unless the seller has an established business relationship with the consumer whose number is being called, or the consumer has given written agreement to be called). But it’s also against the law for a seller to call (or cause a telemarketer to call) any person whose number is within a given area code unless the seller first has subscribed to and accessed the portion of the registry that includes numbers within that area code, and paid the annual fee, if required.
In addition, it’s against the law for a telemarketer, calling on behalf of a seller, to call any person whose number is within a given area code unless the seller has first subscribed to and accessed the portion of the registry that includes numbers within that area code, and paid the annual fee, if required. Telemarketers must make sure that their seller-clients have paid for access to the registry before placing any telemarketing calls on their behalf.
30. What’s my liability if my company inadvertently calls a number on the registry?
The TSR has a “safe harbor” for inadvertent mistakes. If a seller or telemarketer can show that, as part of its routine business practice, it meets all the requirements of the safe harbor, it will not be subject to civil penalties or sanctions for mistakenly calling a consumer who has asked for no more calls, or for calling a person on the registry. To meet the safe harbor requirements, the seller or telemarketer must demonstrate that:
it has written procedures to comply with the do not call requirements
it trains its personnel in those procedures
it monitors and enforces compliance with these procedures
it maintains a company-specific list of telephone numbers that it may not call
it accesses the national registry no more than 31 days (starting January 1, 2005) before calling any consumer, and maintains records documenting this process
any call made in violation of the do not call rules was the result of an error.
Compliance
28. What happens to companies that don’t pay for access to the registry?
A company that is a seller or telemarketer could be liable for placing any telemarketing calls (even to numbers NOT on the registry) unless the seller has accessed the registry and paid the fee, if required. Violators may be subject to fines of up to $11,000 per violation. Each call may be considered a separate violation.
29. What if I call a number that’s not on the registry without checking the registry first?
It’s against the law to call (or cause a telemarketer to call) any number on the registry (unless the seller has an established business relationship with the consumer whose number is being called, or the consumer has given written agreement to be called). But it’s also against the law for a seller to call (or cause a telemarketer to call) any person whose number is within a given area code unless the seller first has subscribed to and accessed the portion of the registry that includes numbers within that area code, and paid the annual fee, if required.
In addition, it’s against the law for a telemarketer, calling on behalf of a seller, to call any person whose number is within a given area code unless the seller has first subscribed to and accessed the portion of the registry that includes numbers within that area code, and paid the annual fee, if required. Telemarketers must make sure that their seller-clients have paid for access to the registry before placing any telemarketing calls on their behalf.
30. What’s my liability if my company inadvertently calls a number on the registry?
The TSR has a “safe harbor” for inadvertent mistakes. If a seller or telemarketer can show that, as part of its routine business practice, it meets all the requirements of the safe harbor, it will not be subject to civil penalties or sanctions for mistakenly calling a consumer who has asked for no more calls, or for calling a person on the registry. To meet the safe harbor requirements, the seller or telemarketer must demonstrate that:
it has written procedures to comply with the do not call requirements
it trains its personnel in those procedures
it monitors and enforces compliance with these procedures
it maintains a company-specific list of telephone numbers that it may not call
it accesses the national registry no more than 31 days (starting January 1, 2005) before calling any consumer, and maintains records documenting this process
any call made in violation of the do not call rules was the result of an error.
posted by Tim Stay at
6:43 PM
